When the Boston Bruins ousted the top-seeded Pittsburgh Penguins in the Eastern Conference Finals, it was not an open showcase of pure hockey talents. Rather, it was a battle of attrition that pitted the talented Penguins playmakers against a stout, reslient Bruins defensive scheme.

The scheme won.

On top of the Bruins defense outplaying the Penguins offense were the ever-present shoves and post-whistle scraps. These signs of a frustrating, grinding, contact-heavy game are ones that will always tilt the game in the favor of the Bruins. In other words: Boston got Pittsburgh more concerned with trading punches instead of goals, and that's exactly how the Bruins wanted the series to play out.

But will the Bruins be able to execute a similar gameplan against a Blackhawks team that is more well-rounded and defensive-minded than the Penguins? To answer that question, let's take a look at what transpired in the final minute of Monday night's 2-1 Bruins victory in Game 3.

At the time, though, the Blackhawks had what was really one of their best chances to score all game (even if it was with just seconds remaining) and an opportunity to prevent just their second shutout of the season. Instead, Blackhawks Bryan Bickell and Andrew Shaw decided to mix it up with Chara and Brad Marchand, respectively. Chicago would not end up scoring, despite a late flurry of scoring chances.

While the Blackhawks would willingly take matching fighting majors for Bickell and Chara to get the Bruins' 6-foot-9 behemoth off of the ice, it's a sign that, in the midst of desperation, Chicago is more than willing to throw down. That's a terrible habit for the Blackhawks to be getting into at this point.

As the Penguins series showed, the Bruins are talented, especially in terms of defensive capabilities and their depth. However, where they excel the most is their ability to simultaneously scrap it up with teams while also putting the puck in the back of the net.

It's only been three games, so the Blackhawks are still very much in this series. However, if the Stanley Cup Final keeps trending in this physical direction, it won't be long until a number of Chicago players start to look like Matt Cooke there.